Majerus time trials to victory in Luxembourg

25 June 2016

Christine Majerus time trialled to victory in Berbourg to take out her tenth straight national time trial title at the Luxembourg Road Championships on Friday. The 29-year-old raced with injuries sustained at the Aviva Women’s Tour including deep wounds and a deeply bruised elbow.

“I didn’t bike for three days after my crash to give the injuries as much rest as possible,” said Majerus. “The elbow for sure isn’t feeling great yet and for any other race, I would have sat out, but nationals are nationals. You don’t want to miss them unless you really have to.”

“I was unsure about the elbow and the legs because I wasn’t able to train the way I wanted,” Majerus added. “In the end, it was a good time trial I think.”

Compared to other nations, Luxembourg’s time trial course is short – covering only 7.5 kilometres. Majerus likened it to a prologue.

“There was not much thinking and pacing,” she said. “It’s mainly a long false flat down and then an irregular shallow climb to the finish. It’s nothing extremely hard, but it’s also not easy to find a good rhythm in the uphill part.” Rhythm or not, Majerus proved quick enough to take out title number ten. She beat out Ann-Sofie Harsch and Elise Maes to the top step of the podium.

“No matter the number, the titles are always nice,” said Majerus. “After my crash, I had time to think about nationals and imagine what it might be like not to have a chance to defend my jersey. It made me quite sad and showed me just how much this jersey counts for me.”

“As for why so many? I think it’s a question of motivation and sacrifice. I believe you should never stop at the first difficulty that comes your way, and I think I’ve shown I live this belief for quite some time. Every time it’s made me stronger, too.”

Majerus will defend her road title on Saturday.

“I wanted to do a good time trial to see where I was standing before the road race,” noted Majerus. “At least I know now that the legs should be fine. As for the rest, I’ll see how hard I can go with the elbow. I think it will be more of an instinct race. Of course, I want to win.”